Warner Bros. Closes Korean Home Video Biz

The move comes just a couple months after the studio launched an on-demand movie service in Korea that was meant to squelch the appetite for pirated movies.

The service, which made new releases available two weeks before the DVD release, apparently wasn’t all that effective.

"One of the reasons for the pullout is a slump in the video and DVD market, resulting from online piracy and illegal downloading," a Warner Bros. Korea exec reportedly told Yonhap news agency.

UPDATE: A Warner Bros. rep writes in to clarify that the company is shuttering the current Warner Home Video operation in South Korea, but will move the business to a local licensee. The VoD service will still be available.